


Where are all the Flying Cars?

by nepenthe_writer



Series: WinterIron Bingo [8]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff and Humor, M/M, Misunderstandings, Science, nerds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-20 19:34:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20233213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nepenthe_writer/pseuds/nepenthe_writer
Summary: Bucky has always been a sci-fi nerd ever since the 40s and wants to know why his boyfriend is holding out on him





	Where are all the Flying Cars?

**Author's Note:**

> Square: B4 - Sci-Fi for the WinterIron Bingo

Before Bucky walked into Tony’s lab for the first time he had been afraid that it would remind him of a Hydra lab. Not all of their labs had been cold and sterile. Hydra had imployeed the brightest minds that they could convince of the righteousness of Hydra’s mission to join them and some of those minds were just as off the wall as Tony’s could be and their labs and work stations had reflected that.

When Bucky had taken his first step into Tony’s lab however he was rooted to the spot in shock. Lights were everywhere shining brightly with different projects in multiple stages of development. Over in the corner was a robot wielding a fire extinguisher and poking it at a blender on a counter beeping sadly though Bucky wasn’t quite sure how he knew it was supposed to represent sadness only that it had sounded the same as Wally had in that movie that Tony had made him watch the other night as part of his cultural integration in order to get him up to speed on the future that he had mostly been frozen and stored away for.

Standing here now Bucky could absolutely believe that he was in the future. If he didn’t know any better he’d have said that by walking through the doorway he had even been transported farther into the future then when he had gotten off the elevator just moments before. Everything was so bright and shiny just like the cheap dime store novels that he had bought down at the corner store whenever he managed to scrounged up enough extra money back in the forties.

With wide eyes Bucky had walked into Tony’s lab with his head on a swivel as he tried to take in everything all at once. He was so lost in this exploration of everything that had represented the future to him all those years ago that he didn’t even notice Tony standing over by one of his classic cars that he was giving a makeover to after having bought it at an auction just the other night.

It wasn’t until after five minutes of quietly taking everything in, cataloging every way that this was clearly not a Hydra lab in any regard that Bucky finally noticed the other man and gave him his attention.

“Something I can help you with Snowflake?” Tony asked as he wiped his hands clean of the brake fluid from the car he had been working on.

Bucky opened and closed his mouth a few times as he tried to sort through his thoughts to explain exactly what he was looking to get help with.

“I was hoping that you might take a look at my arm,” he said holding up the appendage in question. “There’s nothing wrong with it exactly so I know it’s kind of selfish to be taking up your time with something so silly but it’s just … I always check over all of my gear after a mission. It’s just habit, even from before Hydra. During the war we needed to make sure that all of our gear was in top shape or we were in trouble. I can look over my knives and guns and make sure that they are in top form but I can’t do that with the arm and it’s just as much as weapon that I use as anything else.”

Tony had understood and instantly agreed. After every mission they would meet up in Tony’s lab for the genius to check over the arm and make sure that it was still in perfect working order.

That had been the start of their friendship. Tentative at first and then taking off as they both grew more used to one another. Comfort quickly followed. Talks morphed into flirting which came to both of them as easily as breathing. Eventually the flirting ended up as dating and neither of them could be happier with how things were turning out for them after everything each of them had gone through.

Slowly days turned into weeks and weeks faded away into months and Bucky never got tired of visiting Tony down in his lab. There was always something new to see or learn about and he was surprised that the genius hadn’t gotten tired of explaining every last little thing to him by now but at the same time Bucky was extremely grateful because he didn’t want these visits to stop. He was enjoying himself so much and he couldn’t imagine anything better.

There was only one thing that stuck out to Bucky as strange after all this time. Well there was more than one thing if he was being honest but only one thing that really stuck with him and just wouldn’t let him go. After a while he just couldn’t hold himself back any longer.

The next time that he went down to visit Tony while he was working on his cars he was going to ask. There just wasn’t anything for it anymore and he couldn’t stand spending anymore time wondering and waiting for the knowledge to just come to him unprompted.

Tony was laying under one of his classic cars when Bucky walked over to him with a determined stride.

“So which one flies?” Bucky asked, getting the question out there so that he could finally have his answer.

Tony rolled out from underneath the car and sat up, a look of utmost confusion written all over his face.

“What do you mean which one flies?” Tony asked, sounding out the words carefully as though he must have somehow misheard what the super soldier had said. “Last I checked cars drove on the ground. They didn’t fly. You doing okay there Tastyfreeze? Everything still screwed on just right in that head of yours?”

Bucky huffed out a sigh of annoyance like Tony was being purposefully dense. He wasn’t a child and of course his head was doing just fine, he’d passed all of the psych evals after all. He just wanted to know which of Tony’s cars were the flying ones and if maybe the man would let him test out one of them sometimes. He’d be careful with it.

“I know that most cars don’t fly Tony,” Bucky replied back in the same tone that Tony had given to him. “It would probably be too dangerous to let the average person up in the air like that so I get why the government wouldn’t approve mass transit that way but you aren’t most people. If anyone’s going to be allowed flying cars it would be you. Especially you. I just want to get a look at it. I’m sure it’s come a long way from the one Howard was showing off at the Expo back in my day.”

Tony blinked twice at the new information before throwing his head back and laughing so hard that his whole body shook. The laughter continued on for several minutes with Bucky becoming first embarrassed that his question had garnered this kind of reaction before becoming irritated. Sure he may not be a genius like Tony was but he was no slouch when it came to mechanics and he didn’t think that a genuine question should be treated like this.

Just as Bucky was becoming annoyed enough to consider just walking out of the lab altogether and making Tony sleep on the couch, his penthouse or not, the genius in question finally got his laughter under control. Standing up he strutted over to where Bucky was standing and pulled the soldier down into a quick and searing kiss.

“Quick tip, anytime I’m getting frustrated with something I’m working on just remind me of Howard’s flying car,” Tony said, a hint of the laughter still in his voice. “It was arguably one of his greatest failures of engineering and he hated it when anyone brought it up to him. The tech never worked any better than that demonstration but he made such a big deal about it that everyone was after him to keep improving on it for years. Every time he thought it had died down someone from the press always brought it back up again. He never did get it to work so unfortunately no flying cars Buckaroo. Hope that’s not too disappointing for you to bear.”

Bucky couldn’t stop the slight downward twist to his lips that in someone less fearsome might have been called a pout.

“So flying cars aren’t a thing then?” Bucky couldn’t stop himself from demanding. “I read all those sci-fi books, went to world fairs, saw prototypes for flying cars, made it seventy years into the future with my brains mostly unscrambled and there aren’t even flying cars?”

Tony threw his arms around Bucky’s neck and pulled the soldier close to him.

“Sorry to disappoint you Terminator but flying cars aren’t just a difficulty of engineering, they would also be completely impractical if they were to work,” said Tony as he leaned against the other man. “Tell you what though, how about you and me go find some of those old sci-fi books of yours and you tell me your favorite inventions you thought the future would have and we’ll see what we can make together. How does that sound?”

Bucky’s hands found their way to Tony’s waist and gave a light squeeze. “I’ll be Igor to your Frankenstein but you’re really gonna have to make up for the lack of flying cars Doll. I really had my heart set on them. You up for that challenge?”

Tony’s smile was wide enough to split his face at his boyfriend’s words.

“You bet your cute butt I am.”


End file.
